Americans United - Gary Bauerhttps://au.org/tags/gary-bauer
enReligious Right Continues To Cling To Trump’s Baseless Wiretapping Allegationshttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/religious-right-continues-to-cling-to-trump-s-baseless-wiretapping
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Last week, the world was rocked by yet another outrageous claim by President Donald J. Trump: He asserted that former President Barack Obama had tapped his phones during the presidential campaign.</p>
<p>“How low has President Obama gone to tapp [sic] my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!” blared Trump’s March 4 tweet.</p>
<p>The claim hit the media like a hurricane, but you might have noticed that Trump and his inner circle have remained mum about it over the past few days. Undoubtedly, that’s because the evidence that this happened is non-existent.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/files/wiretap.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 601px;" /></p>
<p><em>Despite a complete lack of evidence, the Religous Right is backing President Trump's claim that former President Obama tapped his phones.</em></p>
<p><em>Washington Post</em> reporter Glenn Kessler looked into the matter and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/03/05/trumps-evidence-for-obama-wiretap-claims-relies-on-sketchy-anonymously-sourced-reports/?utm_term=.d178efda9367">concluded</a> that the Trump allegation was based on poorly sourced stories, many from right-wing sites – in other words “fake news.” (Other news sites have reached the <a href="http://www.factcheck.org/2017/03/examining-trumps-wiretap-claim/">same conclusion</a>.)</p>
<p>Kessler concluded that only two of the stories Trump cites are relevant to his claim and added, “Even if these media reports are accepted as accurate, neither back up Trump’s claims that Obama ordered the tapping of his phone calls. Moreover, they also do not back up the administration’s revised claim of politically motivated investigations. We’re still waiting for the evidence.”</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Religious Right leader Gary Bauer, who years ago ran the Family Research Council and now heads a political action committee called the Campaign for Working Families (guess what – it has nothing to do with working families!) is sure Trump is on to something. A <a href="https://www.onenewsnow.com/politics-govt/2017/03/08/trumps-obama-spying-accusations-not-out-of-thin-air?utm_source=OneNewsNow&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=16786537&amp;utm_content=105486778159&amp;utm_campaign=28581">hysterical piece</a> on OneNewsNow, a site run by the American Family Association, quotes Bauer as saying there is “plenty” of evidence that Obama tapped Trump’s phone.</p>
<p>Funny thing, though: Bauer doesn’t actually cite any evidence. Instead, he points to the same flock of discredited, fake news accounts. (Bauer is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/03/06/the-religious-right-is-steeling-itself-for-a-biblical-battle-on-trumps-behalf/?utm_term=.f5f6e47142df">far from the only</a> Religious Right leader backing Trump here.)</p>
<p>To be sure, there is a process by which law enforcement officials can tap someone’s phone. Anyone who watches police dramas knows this. But the cops can’t just break into your home and start recording everything. They must first appear before a court and show probable cause that illegal activity is going on.</p>
<p>At the national level, a piece of legislation called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows the FBI to seek wiretaps in suspected cases of terrorism or illegal activity that involves contact with “agents of foreign powers.” Again, to get approval for a wiretap, the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department must seek approval from a special court and get a warrant.</p>
<p>The president plays no role in this process. And, as several commentators have pointed out, if the FBI was seeking a wiretap of Trump’s phones, it would have had to show the court it has probable cause to believe that illegal activity was going on. James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence, says <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/james-clapper-trump-wiretapping_us_58bc2e6fe4b0d2821b4ec60b">no such warrant</a> was issued during his watch.</p>
<p>To be sure, this business gets convoluted, but the bottom line is that Trump leveled a serious accusation against an ex-president, essentially accusing him of criminal behavior, on the basis of no evidence. (No, blogs run by right-wing cranks don’t count as evidence.)</p>
<p>Someone must have gotten it through to Trump that this was not a smart thing to do, which explains the radio silence emanating from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The president issued a startling accusation. If he had any real evidence, he’d have produced it by now.</p>
<p>The fact that Bauer is desperately trying to cover for Trump shows that the Religious Right is going to stick with this guy no matter how much he lies, no matter how low he goes and no matter how much crazy stuff he unleashes on our political world.</p>
<p>I’m no political pundit, but it seems to me we can’t go on like this. Trump often behaves as if he’s unhinged, and many political observers believe sooner or later he’ll fall.</p>
<p>If that happens, let’s hope he takes Bauer and all of the sanctimonious hacks of the Religious Right’s “values” brigade with him.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/barack-obama">Barack Obama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/fisa">FISA</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/wiretaps">wiretaps</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/gary-bauer">Gary Bauer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/glenn-kessler">Glenn Kessler</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/onenewsnow">OneNewsNow</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/american-family-association">American Family Association</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/campaign-for-working-families">Campaign for Working Families</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/james-clapper">James Clapper</a></span></div></div>Fri, 10 Mar 2017 15:49:27 +0000Rob Boston12778 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/religious-right-continues-to-cling-to-trump-s-baseless-wiretapping#commentsPicking Pence: Trump Veep Choice Has Cozy Relationship With The Religious Right https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/picking-pence-trump-veep-choice-has-cozy-relationship-with-the-religious
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Donald Trump has announced that he plans to put Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on his ticket. This selection signals that Trump, a controversial real estate mogul and reality TV star, is continuing his aggressive courting of the Religious Right, in the hopes of achieving victory this fall.</p>
<p>Whether it will work remains to be seen. In the meantime, here are some things to keep in mind about Pence:</p>
<p><em>He has a close relationship with the Religious Right:</em> Pence, a former member of the House of Representatives, spoke to the Christian Coalition in 2004 and more recently has made several appearances before the Values Voter Summit (VVS), a conference sponsored every fall in Washington, D.C., by the Family Research Council (FRC).</p>
<p>At these gatherings, Pence frequently hammers home the theme that the nation is in a spiritual crisis. In 2010, <a href="https://www.au.org/church-state/october-2010-church-state/featured/an-invitation-to-tea">he told VVS attendees</a>, “Our present crisis is not merely economic and political but spiritual” and insisted that the economic concerns can never trump moral principles, vowing that the GOP will remain focused on opposing legal abortion and marriage equality.</p>
<p>In 2011, Pence said <a href="https://www.au.org/church-state/julyaugust-2011-church-state/featured/ralph-reed-born-again">something very similar</a> to the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition, a group run by former Christian Coalition operative Ralph Reed. “To have a lasting victory for our values, we have to recognize that the present crisis is not just economic and political but moral in nature,” Pence said. “The truth is, we’ve got to get back to basics. We will not solve the crisis facing this country economically or politically by public policy alone. It will require public virtue…. We must again say yes to the importance of organized religion in our everyday life.”</p>
<p>The FRC rates Pence “True Blue,” which means he has voted in accordance with that group 100 percent of the time.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/files/IMG_4825%20Rep%20Mike%20Pence.JPG" style="width: 700px; height: 467px;" /></p>
<p><em>Tough Talk: Pence speaking at the Values Voter Summit in 2010. </em></p>
<p><em>Pence has a long history of trying to restrict Americans’ access to the courts in church-state cases: </em>In 2003, <a href="https://www.au.org/media/press-releases/alabama-lawmaker-promotes-unconstitutional-ten-commandments-defense-act">Pence co-sponsored</a> U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt’s (R-Ala.) “Ten Commandments Defense Act.” Among other things, this reckless “states’ rights” bill would have ordered the federal courts to stay out of lawsuits challenging government-backed Ten Commandments displays in the states. Under the law, people who were offended by such displays would have had no ability to challenge them in court.</p>
<p>In 2004, Pence backed a package of bills introduced by then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas). Among the bills was a measure designed to strip the federal courts of the power to hear certain types of church-state cases. <a href="https://www.au.org/church-state/april-2004-church-state/au-bulletin/delay-congressional-plan-targets-church-state">Pence told</a> Family News in Focus that the bill would “bring an end to the judicial activism that has resulted almost in legislating from the bench.”</p>
<p>Later that year, Pence <a href="https://www.au.org/church-state/may-2004-church-state/au-bulletin/commandments-judge-pushes-court-stripping-bill">introduced a bill</a> written by Roy Moore, the infamous Alabama Supreme Court chief justice, that would have amended U.S. law to strip the U.S. Supreme Court’s power to hear cases involving government “acknowledgment of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government.” The measure, which would have applied to cases retroactively and thus nullified decades of church-state law, would also have forbidden lower federal courts from hearing such disputes.</p>
<p><em>He believes religious mottos should be displayed in public schools and government buildings:</em> In 2011, Pence endorsed a <a href="https://www.au.org/church-state/may-2011-church-state/people-events/americans-united-criticizes-congressional-vote-in">House measure</a> endorsing the display of “In God We Trust” signs in public facilities. The vote, clearly designed to placate the Religious Right, was important, Pence said, because, “I think God…rewards those, including nations, who earnestly seek him.”</p>
<p><em>Pence is no friend of public education:</em> Under his governorship, <a href="https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/fuzzy-math-indiana-private-and-religious-schools-erroneously-received">Indiana passed</a> a sweeping school voucher bill that Americans United and other critics say funnels taxpayer dollars to unaccountable private and religious schools.</p>
<p><em>He’s a sworn enemy of LGBT rights:</em> As governor, <a href="http://www.glaad.org/blog/one-simple-graphic-shows-anti-lgbt-animus-behind-indianas-new-law">Pence in 2015 signed</a> into law an extreme measure that purported to protect “religious freedom” but that in reality gave citizens of Indiana the right to use religion as a pretext to discriminate. When Pence signed the law, he was flanked by several anti-LGBT activists. An ensuing national backlash and threats of boycotts consumed the country for days. Under duress, Pence agreed to alter the legislation.</p>
<p>Some in the Religious Right are <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/for-social-conservatives-and-fans-of-religious-liberty-pence-pick-will-sting/article/2003296">still angry</a> that Pence gave in on that issue, but prominent figures like <a href="http://www.onenewsnow.com/politics-govt/2016/07/11/pence-a-vp-values-voters-can-back">Gary Bauer</a> and <a href="http://onenewsnow.com/politics-govt/2016/07/12/newt-as-vp-pros-and-cons">Richard Land</a> have made it clear that they believe Pence would be a great addition to the GOP ticket.</p>
<p>Pence has been a darling of the Religious Right for many years. Now that he has been named Trump's veep, Pence will undoubtedly be subjected to great scrutiny. A look at his track record on the right of conscience and church-state separation shows one thing clearly: It’s deeply troubling.</p>
<p> </p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/mike-pence">Mike Pence</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/indiana">Indiana</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/gay-rights">Gay Rights</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/robert-aderholt">Robert Aderholt</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ten-commandments">ten commandments</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/family-research-council">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ralph-reed">ralph reed</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/faith-and-freedom-coalition">Faith and Freedom Coalition</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/values-voter-summit">Values Voter Summit</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/gary-bauer">Gary Bauer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/richard-land">richard land</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tom-delay">Tom DeLay</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/vouchers">vouchers</a></span></div></div>Fri, 15 Jul 2016 13:51:29 +0000Rob Boston12087 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/picking-pence-trump-veep-choice-has-cozy-relationship-with-the-religious#commentsThe Whine Of The Never Satisfied: Religious Right Complains Because GOP Isn’t Theocratic Enoughhttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/the-whine-of-the-never-satisfied-religious-right-complains-because-gop-isn
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The most gifted politician in the world wouldn’t be able to perfume a political concept – theocratic government – that is festering with rot from within and that has shown itself, repeatedly throughout history, to be incompatible with democracy, freedom and fundamental human rights.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Every couple of years, a story surfaces in the media about Religious Right leaders and their latest whine-fest. The script goes like this: They’re not happy because they still haven’t gotten everything they want.</p><p>Mind you, this is a movement that has the Republican Party more or less in a headlock. Over the years, its leaders have systematically driven every moderate from the party’s national leadership. No serious Republican presidential contender can hope for success without coming to some accommodation with the Religious Right. Movement activists are an influential, if not controlling, force in many state branches of the GOP.</p><p>Yet its leaders still are not happy.</p><p>The latest version of the Religious Right mope-a-thon comes courtesy of <em>The Washington Post</em>, which on Sunday <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/some-evangelicals-in-republican-party-are-feeling-left-out-see-no-standard-bearer/2014/08/16/77c380e8-224e-11e4-958c-268a320a60ce_story.html">ran a story</a> headlined “Some evangelicals in Republican Party are feeling left out, see no standard-bearer.”</p><p>The story quoted longtime Religious Right activist Gary Bauer, who carped, “Values voters have been treated as the stepchildren of the family, while the party has wanted to get on with so-called more electorally popular ideas. The Republican base will not tolerate another candidate foisted upon us as a guy who can win.”</p><p>The fact is, Bauer and his gang have had several standard-bearers lately: Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, Sarah Palin, Rick Perry, Ben Carson and Herman Cain, to name just a few.</p><p>Of course, there is a drawback to these candidates (or would-be candidates) – chiefly, they are all extremists who make many American voters recoil.</p><p>Maybe, just maybe, the problem isn’t a lack of candidates. Maybe it’s the ideas the Religious Right insist that these candidates espouse.</p><p>The Religious Right is a movement predicated on the belief that clerics who cling to a literal interpretation of ancient writings deemed holy and infallible by some people (who, naturally, cannot agree among themselves what these books say) can best make moral decisions for a nation of 318 million people of every conceivable religious and philosophical point of view.</p><p>Most Americans aren’t interested in living in a Christian fundamentalist/Middle Ages Catholic theocracy. Thus, it’s not surprising that the movement hasn’t been able to find a “standard-bearer” to make its idea palatable to Americans. The most gifted politician in the world wouldn’t be able to perfume a political concept – theocratic government – that is festering with rot from within and that has shown itself, repeatedly throughout history, to be incompatible with democracy, freedom and fundamental human rights.</p><p>I suspect what’s really bothering Bauer and his ilk is the almost-certain knowledge that their extreme agenda is losing support. Most Americans are growing more tolerant of LGBT rights and same-sex marriage. They are not interested in having their children learn fundamentalist dogma in place of science in public school. They don’t yearn for the days of clerical censorship. They are weary of Puritan busybodies who want to meddle in our personal decisions regarding sex. They don’t want to go back to the sexist days of the 1950s. They don’t seek a government that has a favorite religion and treats the members of all others like second-class citizens.</p><p>Total domination of the state at all levels by intolerant, exclusionary, narrow-minded and reactionary fundamentalism has always been the standard of the Religious Right. Its leaders and activists have made no secret of this. They are zealots who long to use their warped definition of the Bible as device to control others.</p><p>It’s a pretty lousy standard, when you think of it. Sure, someone like Huckabee (who, let’s be honest here, is dangerously close to becoming a far-right version of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Stassen">Harold Stassen</a>) is willing to run under it. Is it any wonder that candidates who are serious about winning on the national stage are reluctant to grab it?</p><p>The irony is, successfully GOP candidates, such as President George W. Bush, still end up giving much to the Religious Right. Bush used regulatory changes and executive orders to funnel tax money to right-wing evangelical groups through the “faith-based” initiative. He instructed the U.S. Justice Department to take stands in court that were not favorable to church-state separation. Perhaps most importantly, he appointed men and women with extreme views to the federal judiciary.</p><p>But that’s never enough for the zealots of the Religious Right – because what they want is a different type of America entirely. Instead of a secular constitution that grants freedom of belief to all resting on the separation of church and state, they want a merger of their religion and government in a theocratic state.</p><p>Let them keep complaining. Someday, if we’re lucky, there will no longer be enough of them to build up even a half-audible whine. </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/rick-perry">Rick Perry</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ben-carson">Ben Carson</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/mike-huckabee">Mike Huckabee</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/rick-santorum">Rick Santorum</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/harold-stassen">Harold Stassen</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/george-w-bush-0">George W Bush</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/gary-bauer">Gary Bauer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/religious-right-0">Religious Right</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/republican-party">Republican Party</a></span></div></div>Mon, 18 Aug 2014 14:38:25 +0000Rob Boston10379 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/the-whine-of-the-never-satisfied-religious-right-complains-because-gop-isn#commentsScary Summit: Religious Right Leaders Meet To Plot Big-Money Blitz For 2014 Electionshttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/scary-summit-religious-right-leaders-meet-to-plot-big-money-blitz-for-2014
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The Religious Right hopes to take a page from the playbooks of Karl Rove and the Koch Brothers. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>These are challenging times for the Religious Right. The movement seems to be rapidly losing ground on one of its signature issues, same-sex marriage, and polls show large numbers of young people recoiling from the theocratic agenda of ultra-conservative fundamentalists.</p><p>So these groups must be ready to pack up their tents and go home, right?</p><p>Not quite. <em>Politico</em> <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/social-conservatives-fundraising-101666.html?hp=f1">reported last week</a> that the leaders of more than two dozen Religious Right groups met recently in a type of super-council in Tysons Corner, Va., a Washington, D.C., suburb, to strategize about the best way to get back into the game this election year.</p><p>The answer they came up with is old-fashioned but often effective: Money.</p><p><em>Politico</em>’s Kenneth P. Vogel described the Religious Right’s plan this way: “take a page out of the playbooks of Karl Rove and the Koch brothers by raising millions of dollars, coordinating their political spending and assiduously courting megadonors.”</p><p>The formation of a new Religious Right super PAC is just one option under consideration.</p><p>The story noted that the Republican Party’s business wing is pouring lots of cash into the 2014 elections, in the hopes of giving the GOP enough of a boost to take control of the U.S. Senate. Members of the party’s well-heeled business faction have vowed that this year they will outspend and outflank social conservatives with the aim of keeping <a href="https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/election-reflection-it%E2%80%99s-good-that-church-state-wall-bashers-lost-%E2%80%93-but-let">unelectable candidates</a> like Delaware’s Christine O’Donnell off state ballots.</p><p>Religious Right groups are equally determined to keep their issues front and center in the GOP. The recent event was sponsored by the Council for National Policy, a secretive cabal of far-right groups that seeks to sculpt the Religious Right into a unified phalanx.</p><p><em>Politico</em> reported that 25 organizations participated in the summit, among them Gary Bauer’s American Values, Focus on the Family, Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition, Americans United for Life, the Family Research Council and the National Organization for Marriage. Representatives of various Tea Party groups and organizations affiliated with the infamous <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/koch-backed-political-network-built-to-shield-donors-raised-400-million-in-2012-elections/2014/01/05/9e7cfd9a-719b-11e3-9389-09ef9944065e_story.html">Koch Brothers</a> were also on hand.</p><p>“There are enough people out there that are pro-life and pro-family that have the resources to fund political efforts on those issues, and for a variety of reasons they just haven’t stepped up and so we have to do a better job of getting them to step up,” Bauer told <em>Politico</em>.</p><p>Bauer added that the leaders of Religious Right groups now realize “that we’ve been behind the curve and that we need to do a better job of strategic fundraising and working together in order to get more traction on these issues.”</p><p>Bauer and other Religious Right leaders are convinced that the business wing of the Republican Party, despite its money, doesn’t truly represent the party’s base. There may be something to that. A <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/republicans-belief-in-evolution-plummets-poll-reveals/">recent poll</a> by the Pew Research Center found that only 43 percent of self-identified Republicans say that humans have evolved over time. That number was at 54 percent just four years ago, an indication that the GOP’s base is increasingly composed of religious fundamentalists.</p><p>Republican leaders are convinced that voters are angry over the disastrous roll-out of the Affordable Care Act website and the ongoing lackluster performance of the national economy. There may be something to that as well. President Barack Obama’s approval ratings have tumbled recently, and Democrats are worried that their party will suffer at the polls later this year.</p><p>But for that to happen, there can be “no fools on our ticket,” Scott Reed of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/26/chamber-of-commerce-sets-gop-goal-for-2014-no-fools-on-our-ticket/">said recently</a>.</p><p>What does all of this mean for advocates of separation of church and state? Chiefly it’s more evidence that the Religious Right <a href="https://www.au.org/church-state/november-2013-church-state/featured/alive-and-kicking">isn’t dead yet</a>, despite what some political prognosticators would have you believe. These groups may be outspent by the business wing, but they have considerable influence and support among the rank-and-file party voters, which is no small thing. After all, these are the people who usually turn out for primary elections.</p><p>Although the Religious Right can’t match the business faction dollar for dollar, these groups often have a superior ground game. Their ability to mobilize right-wing evangelical voters through churches is legendary – even if it’s of <a href="http://projectfairplay.org/facts/faq/">dubious legality</a>.</p><p>In short, keep your eyes and ears open. It’s going to be an interesting election year.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/gary-bauer">Gary Bauer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ralph-reed">ralph reed</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/family-reasearch-council">Family Reasearch Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/faith-and-freedom-coalition">Faith and Freedom Coalition</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/scott-reed">Scott Reed</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/kenneth-p-vogel">Kenneth P. Vogel</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/council-national-policy">Council For National Policy</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/koch-brothers">Koch brothers</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/national-organization-for-marriage">National Organization for Marriage</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/americans-united-for-life">Americans United for Life</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/us-chamber-of-commerce">U.S. Chamber of Commerce</a></span></div></div>Mon, 06 Jan 2014 15:47:19 +0000Rob Boston9544 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/scary-summit-religious-right-leaders-meet-to-plot-big-money-blitz-for-2014#commentsMoon Shadow: Unification Church Founder Mesmerized Religious Right, Members Of Congresshttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/moon-shadow-unification-church-founder-mesmerized-religious-right-members
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The late Rev. Sun Myung Moon was a sugar daddy to the Religious Right.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>The Rev. Sun Myung Moon, self-proclaimed messiah, founder of the Unification Church and funder of various Religious Right political causes, <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-09-02/unification-church-rev-moon-dies/57537454/1">died on Monday.</a></p><p>Moon, who was 92, was familiar to many Americans because of the rather esoteric beliefs of his church – the mass weddings, the flower sellers on the streets and the allegations that the church was really a “cult.”</p><p>There was another side to the story. In the early 1980s, Moon began pouring millions into Religious Right organizations. Over the years, he used a network of front groups to channel cash to people like Tim LaHaye, Jerry Falwell, Ralph Reed, Gary Bauer and others.</p><p>Moon’s ties to Falwell, although often overlooked, were especially important. In 1998, <em>The Washington Post</em> reported that a Moon front group called the Christian Heritage Foundation bought $3.5 million of Liberty University’s debt. A separate Moon group lent the school $400,000. Moon’s millions propped up the flagging Falwell empire during a time when it might otherwise have collapsed.</p><p>Moon money was also used to buy favor with a number of political leaders. Over the years, Jack Kemp, Jeanne Kirkpatrick, William Bennett, U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and even former presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush have accepted Moon money to speak at conferences.</p><p>One of the most curious episodes in Moon history occurred in March of 2004, when Moon <a href="http://www.au.org/church-state/may-2004-church-state/people-events/sun-myung-moon-crowned-king-of-america-at-us-senate">was crowned</a> “King of America” at a bizarre ceremony that took place in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.</p><p>A number of D.C. luminaries attended the event, among them several leaders who were then members of the Senate and House, including U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton (D-Minn.) and Reps. Roscoe G. Bartlett (R-Md.), Christopher B. Cannon (R-Utah), Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.), Harold E. Ford (D-Tenn.) and Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (D-Ga.).</p><p>During the “coronation,” gaudy and glittering crowns were literally placed on the heads of Moon and his wife Hak Ja Han as they stood attired in flowing robes. Moon gave a rambling address during which he claimed that several dead figures from history, among them Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Adolf Hitler, have been “reborn as new persons” after studying Moon’s teachings in the “spirit world” and referred to himself as the messiah.</p><p>A Moon aide, Chung Hwan Kwak, later remarked that the ceremony amounted to America asking Moon, “Please be my king.” Kwak added, “The ‘inside’ view of the event was that America surrendered to True Parents in the king’s position.”</p><p>It was <a href="http://www.au.org/church-state/september-2004-church-state/people-events/virginia-senator-says-he-got-congressional">later reported</a> that U.S. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) arranged for Moon’s group to use the room, although Warner did not attend. Several politicians and religious leaders who attended the event later claimed they were duped and didn’t know it was connected to Moon.</p><p>None of this surprised long-time observers of Moon’s movement. Unification theology includes some elements of Christianity, but the main focus has always been on Moon. He believed that all religious groups should merge under his banner. According to Moon, Jesus Christ failed in his earthly mission and there was a need for a new messiah – Moon.</p><p>By the time of the crowning, Unification theology was increasingly promoting the idea that only Moon could save humankind. Throughout 2002 and 2003, advertisements had been appearing in the Moon-owned <em>Washington Times</em> reporting on a series of conversations Moon followers had with dead presidents in the “spirit world.” To no one’s surprise, the presidents all endorsed Moon and his theology.</p><p>During <a href="http://www.au.org/church-state/october-2003-church-state/people-events/us-presidents-endorse-sun-myung-moon-from">one such conference</a>, Thomas Jefferson reportedly cried out, “People of America, rise again! Return to the nation's founding spirit. Follow the teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the Messiah to all people, who has appeared in Korea. There is no inconsistency between our founding spirit and his teachings. Well-known presidents and kings from history are excited by the greatness of his philosophy of peace.”</p><p>(Rutherford B. Hayes also got in on the action. The 19th president <a href="http://www.au.org/church-state/february-2003-church-state/people-events/february-2003-people-events">remarked</a>, “People of earth! People of America! I cannot record here everything that I have experienced. I can only say that the Unification Principle is a great truth and that it is unmistakable that the Rev. Sun Myung Moon holds all the keys to human salvation and peace.”)</p><p>As strange as beliefs like this seem, they’ve never stopped Moon and his money from making great inroads into the right wing. Moon’s <em>Washington Times</em>, for example, was founded in 1982 and has never made a dime in profit. The church continues to subsidize it, and the paper has become a leading voice for inside-the-Beltway conservatives.</p><p>Moon’s people know how to play the political game. After the 2000 election, Moon groups sponsored a series of “unity rallies” that were supposedly designed to bring the nation together after a divisive electoral contest that had to be resolved by Supreme Court intervention.</p><p>In reality, the events were designed to get people used to the idea that George W. Bush was the legitimate winner. During Bush’s tenure, a Moon group in California <a href="http://www.au.org/church-state/november-2004-church-state/people-events/moon%E2%80%99s-flock-benefits-from-%E2%80%98faith-based%E2%80%99">raked in taxpayer money</a> under the “faith-based” initiative.</p><p>So what happens now? Moon leaves behind a large family as well as a dizzying array of political groups, religious organizations and secular businesses. (Among Moon’s holdings are a seafood company that provides many restaurants with fish for sushi, a firearms manufacturing firm and a dance troupe.) <em>The Times</em> may not be profitable, but many of these other outlets are. The Moon fortune may run into the billions.</p><p>With money like that at stake, I expect there will be a power struggle. And while it’s too early to determine how it will all shake out, I expect Moon’s millions will continue to prop up Religious Right groups for many years to come.</p><p>And who knows – we may not have heard the last of Moon himself. He may still have some parting instructions for us, which I’m sure he’ll eagerly impart from the spirit world.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/sun-myung-moon">Sun Myung Moon</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/unification-church">Unification Church</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/washington-times">Washington Times</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ralph-reed">ralph reed</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/gary-bauer">Gary Bauer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/chung-hwan-kwak">Chung Hwan Kwak</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/gerald-ford">Gerald Ford</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/george-w-bush">George W. Bush</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/george-hw-bush">George H.W. Bush</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/john-warner">John Warner</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/mark-dayton">Mark Dayton</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/thomas-jefferson">thomas jefferson</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/rutherford-b-hayes">Rutherford B. Hayes</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/jerry-falwell">Jerry Falwell</a></span></div></div>Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:47:43 +0000Rob Boston7512 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/moon-shadow-unification-church-founder-mesmerized-religious-right-members#commentsVenomous Visitors: Religious Right Leaders Had Run Of Bush White House https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/venomous-visitors-religious-right-leaders-had-run-of-bush-white-house
<a href="/about/people/joseph-l-conn">Joseph L. Conn</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Religious Right leaders with a deeply divisive and politically extreme agenda were making themselves right at home in the Bush White House.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>It is hardly a secret that the Religious Right helped elect President George W. Bush and exercised extraordinary influence with his administration. But if we need more evidence, it's just been put on the table.</p>
<p>Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government (CREW) has just released <a href="http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/42339">a report </a>tallying visits to the Bush White House by major Religious Right players. CREW filed a request for visitor records that coughed up the information.</p>
<p>According to a Sept. 4 CREW press release, the count looks something like this:</p>
<p>* For the period April 2001 through June 2006, Focus on the Family Founder and Chairman Emeritus James Dobson visited the White House 24 times; 10 of those visits were to President Bush.</p>
<p>* Andrea Sheldon Lafferty, executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition, made an astonishing 50 visits to the White House starting on Feb. 1, 2001, and continuing through March 16, 2008. Six of those visits were to President Bush.</p>
<p>* Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, made 43 visits to the White House between May 2001 and August 2006. Four of those visits were to President Bush.</p>
<p>* Gary Bauer, president of American Values, made 10 visits to the White House, starting with a Jan. 6, 2003, visit to Vice President Cheney and ending with a July 20, 2006, visit to President Bush.</p>
<p>* The late Jerry Falwell, of Jerry Falwell Ministries, made eight visits to the White House between May 2001 and September 2004. Three of those visits were to President Bush.</p>
<p>* Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council, visited the White House 14 times between February 2001 and June 2006, including two visits to President Bush.</p>
<p>* The Rev. Louis Sheldon, chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition, made 19 visits to the White House between March 2001 and September 2006, including two visits to President Bush.</p>
<p>* The late Paul Weyrich, founder of Free Congress Foundation, made 17 visits to the White House between May 2001 and July 2005, including six visits to President Bush and one to Karl Rove.</p>
<p>* The Rev. Donald Wildmon, founder of the American Family Association, made three visits to the White House between July 2001 and March 2003, including one visit to President Bush.</p>
<p>Pretty appalling, huh?</p>
<p>Religious Right leaders with a deeply divisive and politically extreme agenda were making themselves right at home in the White House. A few of them practically lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue! (Did Andrea Lafferty leave her toothbrush and makeup case there?)</p>
<p>Fortunately, this crowd has much less influence with the Obama administration. But they are still waging an intense campaign to influence public policy. The Religious Right today is relentlessly bashing President Barack Obama and aiming its most intense lobbying at Congress and the state legislatures where elected officials are more susceptible to theocratic pressures.</p>
<p>The Washington Post <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/08/AR2009090802985.html">reports</a> that Perkins, Dobson, Bauer and their cronies have set their sights on defeating health care reform. The tactics are the same as always: demonizing Obama and top congressional Democrats and inflaming public debate, all in the name of their version of Christianity.</p>
<p>This may be bad for democracy and bad for the integrity of authentic religion, but it brings new recruits to the crusade and new dollars to the Religious Right's coffers. It also refutes claims that the movement is dead. Less powerful, happily – but far from dead.</p>
<p>"Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Henry Waxman have done more to energize Christian conservatives than any conservative leader could have done with this health-care package," Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptists' Ethics and Religious Liberty [sic] Commission, told The Post. "I, who never believed that we were dead, did not believe that it would happen this quickly."</p>
<p>Look for more of the sorry same from the Religious Right in upcoming months.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/fighting-religious-right">Fighting the Religious Right</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/andrea-lafferty">Andrea Lafferty</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/citizens-responsibility-and-ethics">Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/don-wildmon">Don Wildmon</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/gary-bauer">Gary Bauer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/james-dobson">James Dobson</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/jerry-falwell-sr">Jerry Falwell Sr.</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/louis-sheldon">Louis Sheldon</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/paul-weyrich">Paul Weyrich</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tony-perkins">Tony Perkins</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/wendy-wright">Wendy Wright</a></span></div></div>Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:53:39 +0000Joseph L. Conn1584 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/venomous-visitors-religious-right-leaders-had-run-of-bush-white-house#commentsCelebrating The Secular: Obama Says U.S. Is Not A Christian Nationhttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/celebrating-the-secular-obama-says-us-is-not-a-christian-nation
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Obama&#039;s remarks in Turkey reflect the best of Jefferson&#039;s thinking and rebuke people like Gingrich, Bauer and O&#039;Reilly.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>The United States was not founded as a Christian nation. Nothing in the Constitution grants Christianity favored status. In fact, Article VI bans religious tests for federal office, and the First Amendment bars laws "respecting an establishment of religion" while protecting "the free exercise thereof" – for all faiths.</p>
<p>It's good to hear political leaders remind us of this fact from time to time, as President Barack Obama did yesterday during a press conference in Turkey.</p>
<p>"I've said before that one of the great strengths of the United States is – although as I mentioned we have a very large Christian population – we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation, or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation," <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIVd7YT0oWA&amp;feature=player_embedded">Obama said</a>. "We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values."</p>
<p>A few second later, Obama went on to praise the concept of "a secular country that is respectful of religious freedom, respectful of rule of law, respectful of freedom, upholding these values and being willing to stand up for them in the international stage."</p>
<p>That remark really lifted my spirits.</p>
<p>Lately I've been doing some research into the views of Newt Gingrich, who appears to be attempting to remake himself as some sort of Religious Right leader. In <a href="http://blog.au.org/2009/03/24/hes-baaaaack-newt-gingrich-slithers-out-from-under-a-rock-again/">recent remarks </a>to the media, the former House speaker drips with sarcasm as he criticizes the West for being secular. The contrast between Obama's forward-looking vision and Gingrich's regressive one could not be starker.</p>
<p>Gingrich isn't the only one playing that game. How many times have you heard Fox News Channel blowhard Bill O'Reilly rail against <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200511210003">"secular progressives"</a>? Gingrich, O'Reilly, et al, believe "secular" is a dirty word because they insist on conflating it with hostility toward religion. It's not. In fact, the idea of government neutrality on questions of theology is the platform upon which religious liberty rests.</p>
<p>In 1797, the U.S. Senate endorsed -- and President John Adams signed -- the <a href="http://www.au.org/site/DocServer/Treaty_With_Tripoly.pdf?docID=143">Treaty with Tripoli,</a> a document stating forthrightly, "[T[he government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion...." It was reminder to the Muslim states of North Africa that religion need be no excuse for conflict.</p>
<p>Today, some Religious Right leaders would have us assert a mythical "Christian nation" lineage and confront the Islamic world in some type of new crusade.</p>
<p>Gary Bauer seems to be among them. Bauer, formerly the president of the Family Research Council, yesterday sent <a href="http://www.israpundit.com/2008/?p=11993">a remarkably ignorant message</a> to supporters of his American Values organization, criticizing Obama for his remarks and even invoking Thomas Jefferson.</p>
<p>But Bauer's efforts to draft Jefferson as an ally in his new crusade fail miserably. Jefferson sought to understand Islam, not attack it. Jefferson was probably one of just a few Americans who owned a copy of the Quran in the early 19th century. He also supported the right of Muslims (and indeed people of all faiths and none) to live freely in America.</p>
<p>When Virginia lawmakers passed his Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and rejected a provision to limit its protection to Christians only, Jefferson rejoiced. The bill, he wrote, would include "within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan [Muslims], the Hindoo, the infidel of every denomination."</p>
<p>Obama's remarks in Turkey reflect the best of Jefferson's thinking and rebuke people like Gingrich, Bauer and O'Reilly.</p>
<p>Americans United has disagreed with some of the president's recent decisions. We still hope he will reform his "faith-based" initiative and end all forms of taxpayer-funded religious discrimination. But when it comes to understanding and analyzing America's core value of religious freedom, Obama gets it – and he explains it eloquently.</p>
<p>For that we're thankful.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/barack-obama">Barack Obama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bill-oreilly">Bill O&#039;Reilly</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/christian-nation">christian nation</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/gary-bauer">Gary Bauer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/newt-gingrich">Newt Gingrich</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/secular-nation">secular nation</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/treaty-tripoli">Treaty with Tripoli</a></span></div></div>Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:26:03 +0000Rob Boston1970 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/celebrating-the-secular-obama-says-us-is-not-a-christian-nation#commentsOrange County Outrage: Supervisors May Divert Sex Ed Funds To Religious Grouphttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/orange-county-outrage-supervisors-may-divert-sex-ed-funds-to-religious
<a href="/about/people/joseph-l-conn">Joseph L. Conn</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The Los Angeles Times called the supervisors&#039; move &quot;hypocritical&quot; and &quot;reprehensible.&quot;
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Lock up the children! The Rev. Wiley Drake is on the loose again.</p>
<p>I'm sure you remember Drake, the controversial California pastor and media hound. Drake, a Southern Baptist, is perhaps best known for waging an "imprecatory prayer" <a href="http://www.au.org/site/News2?abbr=pr&amp;page=NewsArticle&amp;id=9327">campaign against Americans United </a>and its staff (including me by name – thanks, Wiley!).</p>
<p>It was an educational moment for everyone. A lot of reporters didn't know what imprecatory prayers were, and they were more than a bit surprised that a Christian minister in the 21st century was asking God to kill or cripple people the minister doesn't like. Call it Taliban Lite.</p>
<p>Drake's latest outrage is an <a href="http://www.theliberaloc.com/2009/03/15/wiley-drake-loves-john-moorlach/">over-the-top appearance</a> before the Orange County Board of Supervisors, in which he demanded that Planned Parenthood ("a baby-killing organization") be defunded. He added his usual dollop of gratuitous insanity, noting that President Barack Obama is an "illegal alien." (He "doesn't even have a green card.")</p>
<p>Drake then -- to the derisive laughter of many in the crowd -- proclaimed himself "ordained by Almighty God" and insisted that the supervisors were also ordained and that God "will hold you accountable for what you do today."</p>
<p>I don't know how much the board members were swayed by Wiley's rant. But they <a href="http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/a-clockwork-orange/supervisors-abort-planned-pare/">voted unanimously</a> March 10 to suspend funding for Planned Parenthood's health-education work among girls and young women. They cited moral and religious reasons for their action.</p>
<p>To add insult to injury, the board is considering <a href="http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-me-planned-parenthood14-2009mar14,0,6894102.story">directing the money </a>to Birth Choice Health Clinics, a religion-based Santa Ana outfit that pushes abstinence education and tries to pressure women not to have abortions.</p>
<p>On the group's <a href="http://www.birthchoiceclinic.org/">Web site,</a> the sectarian agenda is pretty carefully cloaked, but it is telling that these activists get <a href="http://www.birthchoiceoc.org/inform/option-ultrasound.html">funding from Focus </a>on the Family, James Dobson's fundamentalist political ministry. Last November, Birth Choice scheduled Religious Right warhorse Gary <a href="http://www.ocregister.com/articles/eaton-women-choice-2184812-one-birth">Bauer as the featured speaker</a> at its fund-raising banquet. (Sadly, the group has also gotten <a href="http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/ccf/about_ccf/fundings_targeted_capacity.html">public funding</a> through George W. Bush's "faith-based" initiative!)</p>
<p>The <em>Los Angeles Times</em> called the supervisors' move <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-parenthood14-2009mar14,0,6633123.story">"hypocritical" and "reprehensible." </a></p>
<p>"This nation tried abstinence-only sex education," observed the <em>Times</em>. "It didn't work."</p>
<p>Dr. Thomas C. Bent, medical director and chief operating officer of the Laguna Beach Community Clinic, <a href="http://www.ocregister.com/articles/county-planned-clinic-2337089-parenthood-bent">told</a> the <em>Orange County Register</em>, "There has to be a separation of church and state. I don't proselytize in my exam room. [The board of supervisors] shouldn't proselytize with the power of their office."</p>
<p>That's exactly right. Public funding should go to agencies that provide comprehensive, medically sound sex education, not Religious Right front groups that exist to proselytize.</p>
<p>It's especially deplorable when Orange County officials appear to be working in tandem with a certifiable loon like Wiley Drake. That tells you how sound the policy must be.</p>
<p>By the way, Wiley, your imprecatory prayers notwithstanding, I'm still here and so is Americans United. And we're doing everything we can to stop you and the Religious Right from advancing your theocratic agenda.</p>
<p>Maybe God isn't your heavenly hit-man after all.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/barack-obama">Barack Obama</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/birth-choices-health-clinics">Birth Choices Health Clinics</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/faith-based-initiative">faith-based initiative</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/gary-bauer">Gary Bauer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/imprecatory-prayer">imprecatory prayer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/orange-county-board-supervisors">Orange County Board of Supervisors</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/planned-parenthood">Planned Parenthood</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/rev-wiley-drake">The Rev. Wiley Drake</a></span></div></div>Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:18:15 +0000Joseph L. Conn1559 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/orange-county-outrage-supervisors-may-divert-sex-ed-funds-to-religious#comments